As described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2013-189569, a sliding member provided with a binder including a phenolic resin and an epoxy resin and with a coating film including a solid lubricant is known.
However, in some cases, the abovementioned coating film lacks flexibility, and in such cases, adhesion between a base material and the coating film may be impaired. For example, if the abovementioned coating film is formed on a surface of a sheet shaped based material made of metal, the flexibility of the coating film is meagre, and therefore cracks can occur in the coating film during bending or such when processing the base material. Moreover, because the ability of the coating film to follow de-formation of the base material is meagre, when a location of a bend is scratched, the coating film may peel away.
The various disadvantages attributable to the low flexibility of the coating film with respect to this type of base material are particularly problematic with lubricating coating films that are formed for the purpose of lubrication on a surface of a sliding member that contacts another member for a long period of time.